November Evening

What a splendid November evening! Tonight it was just chilly enough to pile on a few layers, but beautiful, sunny and inviting. We get several requests for sessions during periods of time when the leaves are still on the trees (May-October), but this is a wonderful example of how gorgeous Ohio is all year round (mind you, having such a beautiful family is really helping with the scenery here!).

Holiday Hop

This is going to be one massive blog post! First, thanks to everyone who came out for this month’s Gallery Hop. We had over 100 kids and parents coming through our doors to see a color explosion of artwork. Here are a few snapshots from the evening.


Come out and visit us December 5th for our very first Holiday Hop (perhaps the biggest Gallery Hop event for the Short North throughout the year). I photographed the artwork for December’s Hop, updating a simple black and white study of orchids from a few years back to now present a series studying organic texture and muted colors. Of course coming out for food and specials will be a big perk as well (more details to come). Here’s a preview of next month’s exhibit.

And speaking of the holidays, we’ve had several sign-ups for our Greeting Card Mini’s later this month. There are still a few spots left; e-mail Ryan for more details and to reserve a session. In the meantime, here’s what we’re working on for four different holiday sets in case you’re trying to figure out how to dress the kids. Holiday card templates will be designed around these for you to choose from.

Gallery Hop Tonight!

Just sharing a sampling of what we have going on for this evening’s Gallery Hop. Feel free to stop by the studio between 4-10pm here at 139 East 2nd Ave., Columbus. We’ve got our space nearly wallpapered by various art projects from the students at St. Joseph’s Montessori School. This is definitely our most colorful exhibit yet!

Also, if you think your school would be interested in holding an art show in our space don’t hesitate to get in touch!

One

Happy Birthday Miss A!!!

When I first get back to my home or studio to begin uploading the images after a session, I skim through everything to pull out a few photos for the blog. I don’t necessarily pull out the best from the session, or even my favorites; just whatever I happen to be drawn to at that particular moment. Well today I did everything as usual and I discovered that little A. has one of the most classic-looking baby faces I’ve seen. I played around with tone and texture from image to image, but otherwise you’ll see a very unique, monochromatic slideshow. Today I put the vibrant color box away and am enjoying A’s classic beauty!

Sister and Brother

I had a chunk-a-licious session today with this 6 month old cutie and his big sister, S. She cracks me up every time I photograph her. You can probably tell that she’s an amazing little girl, because not only is she on the splash page of my site, but she’s also the very first image in our “Somber Souls” gallery and featured across the top banner of our Studio9 site! I’m anticipating big things for her brother, L., as well, after he poured on the charm in today’s session. Enjoy the preview!

Looking for a Home

Just wanted to post these sweet pictures of Batman. His human mommy has developed severe allergies and Batty needs to find a new home. He lives with three children right now (1-5 years old) and would love to find another home just as loving! Here’s some more information:

One our of Bully Breed Program graduates is looking for a new home.
Batman currently lives with a young couple and their 3 children
(approx. ages 1 year, 3 years and 5 years). Batman has been living
with this family since February of this year and has been a wonderful
addition to the family and a joy to the children. Unfortunately,
Batty’s human Mom has developed severe allergies to him that she has
not been able to overcome. So we are looking for a new home for him
ASAP.

Batman is approx. 2-3 years old, neutered and up to date on his
vaccinations. He weighs about 60 pounds. Batty lived successfully
with other dogs in his original foster home, though we aren’t sure
about his compatibility with cats (his current home has no other
pets). He’s housebroken and crate-trained.

Batty is truly one of the most special dogs to come through our
Program. He’s very intelligent, very confident and therefore very
steady. He does great with kids (so we were very happy to see him go
to a family with children).

If you’d like more information about Batman, please e-mail us so we can forward you the appropriate contact information. Please share this post with anyone you think may make for a good family for Batty!

Saturday Gallery Hop

We are so incredibly excited for our November Gallery Hop night. Come on out to the studio this Saturday between 4-10pm to see original artworks by art students at St. Joseph Montessori. (These photos were sent to us to show the kids working on their pieces.) This is going to be a match made in Heaven. Not only is St. Joseph’s just across the street from our studio, but I think the color and energy of our space will be a perfect fit to display the creativity of a child. We’re so excited by this, that for 2010 & 2011, Ryan and I are hoping to move the focus of our Gallery Hop nights to feature more children’s artwork. If your school is interested in using our space for a show, just get in touch with Ryan for availability and details.

Otherwise, we’re located at 139 E. 2nd Ave., Columbus, just a block East of High Street near the Short North. We’d love to see you this Saturday!

Senior and Horses

I’m a few weeks behind on sharing images from this senior session. It was such a dark evening (raindrops were falling during most of our session & a downpour hit on my car ride home). But that, mixed with this young woman’s intense eyes and soulful expressions, made for such lovely, moody images. Also, I’d never photographed with multiple horses before, but I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity. What elegant creatures!

It’s a Beautiful Day

This is starting to feel like my second family. I’ve seen A. and her parents three times in less than a week! We tried to get together for this session a few days ago, but dark clouds and raindrops shooed me away. And yesterday this little Foofah from Yo Gabba Gabba came out to the studio for our Halloween sessions (photo below). Isn’t she cute!?! Thankfully, the stars aligned for today’s session. The sun was shining, leaves were sparkling and, as always, this family was such a delight to work with!

Strength

What a fitting end to October’s blog posts. I’m sure you’ve been seeing pink everywhere you go during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today’s session was a celebration of life and strength for C. and her family as she battles this awful disease. And, if you can even comprehend this, her husband is also living with cancer (bone marrow). But this family is strong. You would not believe the amount of positive energy they exude. It was an honor to photograph this family of warriors!

In the Leaves

Check out how adorable these kids are! When I came upon Miss M. in the parking lot she flashed her dimples, waved a hand and called out “Hi Amy!” (which really sounded more like “Hiamee!”). Then Mr. C showed me his Bob the Builder toy and started chattering on about the cutest things. Instead of tossing their handfuls of leaves straight up in the air, most of them ended up piling right on top of their heads!

Enjoy the preview, and make sure you get out there to play in some leaves yourself!

Fall Family

If you could bottle up a cup full of fun with a dash of silly sprinkles and drizzle in a bit of warm spirit, this family is exactly what you’d come up with. By the end of tonight’s cloudy session I was practically rolling with laughter from these kids’ crazy athletic endeavors (for the record, I think watching bush jumping would be much more entertaining than hurdle jumping…there’s the whole bounce factor when you don’t clear the surface)!

…and action!

This may possibly be the most laid back trio I’ve ever photographed. We had some fun throwing leaves and jumping in the air, but these siblings seemed so much more natural when striking a pose and showing off those big blue eyes. They even performed out in the rain, just like an authentic set of models!

Enjoy the sneak peeks!

Sweet Music

“Love is like a violin. The music may stop now and then, but the strings remain forever.” ~June Masters Bacher

This couple got in touch for some portraits to celebrate the early years of married life. Their love of music is what brought them together a few years ago, meeting each other in college while they both studied the violin. G. still plays and even offers lessons around the city. Plus, there are some great baking skills in this family! G. & R. brought in a plate of cookies to their session using a recipe passed down through the family. I had to eat one (or two…) in the car ride home to make sure they’d be safe for Ryan, and we’ve both had another one (or two…orthree!) at home. Mmm, are they good!

Thanks so much G. & R.!!!

Bella Bella Beautiful

I’ve got to do this more often! Tonight I met up with two lovely girls who (along with K’s mom and L’s dad) were so gracious to model for me while I tried out some new equipment and a new location. By looking at these two you would think that I hand-selected them for their looks but, no, they were just the first ones available after I made a last-minute Facebook post (by the way, if you’re not my friend on Facebook, you may want to give me an “add”…every now and again I’ll make postings like this when I need a model fast). Anyway, these two were simply beautiful and oh, so patient while I swapped lenses, made adjustments and mumbled at the sun for not coming out to shine. Enjoy the previews!

A at Three

Another perfect evening for an autumn session. I’ve been photographing Miss A. since she was just 3 months old and, all of a sudden, she’s three years old! In just a year since our last session together, she’s now talking circles around me and running all about in play. She listed all of her boyfriends, talked about her favorite color, told me “Mommy is my friend”, and even invited me out to pick up her new Diego DVD! It’s so amazing to see a beautiful baby growing into such a charming little girl. I love my job.

Golden Leaves

Another beautiful evening & another beautiful family tonight! Sometimes I just feel like pinching myself when everything works out so lovely. This is my fourth year photographing these sisters and they just get cuter and cuter every time I see them. They were even hamming it up and pulling out their own poses throughout the evening. Lookout, J & M…I think I see a few future models here!

Twins x5

This must be the year of the twins! G. & B. are my 5th set this year and make such a great duo. One is goofy-funny and the other is such an amazingly cute little man. Even though their personalities are on opposite ends of the spectrum, they get along so well. If I had bigger pockets in my jacket, I may have just taken them home with me. Although “Mom”, “Dad” and doggy, Ziva would have to come along, too! I’m sure you’ve read this a thousand times, but I really do love this job and all of the people I meet along the way. It makes me so happy to know that the world is filled with people just like this!

Bella and Family

What a surprise! Just about an hour before tonight’s session this family made a new addition to the gang. Baby Bella came a day early, but just in time to be a part of their family portraits. Needless to say, my job was super easy when it came to getting the boys to interact and play with her! Everyone wanted to help out (including myself!!).

Hittin’ the Pavement

What an incredible family! The M’s and I met at the studio and then walked around the backstreets of the Short North for tonight’s session. The energy level of this family as well as the way they bantered and laughed together was so fun to watch from behind the camera. And, even though I’d swear the temperature dropped 15 degrees from the time we started photographing and the sun was nowhere to be found, these guys ‘n gals really showed off their inner warmth to make their images shine!